Imagine you’re a little boy.  For Christmas you get an action figure of a woman in a wedding gown that includes part of a romantic balcony and a ceremonial head of broccoli, as is the tradition.  Clearly this would be your reaction.  And that is why this figure is so great.  The 2002 Star Wars “Saga” line emphasized the “action” in action figures with some of the most obtrusive play features and exaggerated dynamic poses in the history of the line.  2003 seemed to be an over correction as what many of the figures could do was de-emphasized and the attention was placed on the static display capabilities.  This was particularly true of Collection 2 which favored “collector oriented” figures.

If you’ve followed my reviews, you know I place major importance on articulation.  I open and display my figures, and the display configurations the articulation affords me is important.  I also like to refresh my displays occasionally by reposing my figures and that can only be achieved if the figure is highly “posable”.  Despite this, I have always tolerated less articulation on the ornate non-action oriented Padmé Amidala figures.  While the white jump suit Geonis Arena Padmé figures demand “posability”, any figure where she is wearing a gown does not.  When the figure is more about the costume than the character, display aesthetics are important.

That is clearly where Hasbro erred in this case.  The figure merely needs to look good while standing there holding a bouquet of flowers or receiving Anakin’s cybernetic hand.  I think it passes in that regard.  If you count the articulation points it seems at least standard for the time with six points, but that articulation is effectively useless.  The figure is scarcely better than the completely static pieces included in some multi-packs.  Again the attention was shifted towards “displayability” instead of “posability” and the included balcony accessory further accentuates that.  The gown and in particular the headdress are ornately sculpted.  If you really like Attack of the Clones and want to recreate one of the most boring scenes of a boring movie, this figure and accessory are acceptable for your modern display.  Based on the whole package, this set earns a 5 out of 10.